PepsiCo and Americana renew their partnership agreement for multiple years and celebrate 40 years of partnership

Press release

Published January 13th, 2014 - 09:51 GMT

Al Bawaba

This week saw representatives from PepsiCo, the leading global food and beverage company, and Americana Group, one of the largest and most successful food and beverages corporations in the Middle East and North Africa, come together to officially renew their partnership agreement and to celebrate 40 years of working together in the region.

At a celebratory dinner meeting at the Burj Al Arab, Dubai, hosted by Omar Farid, President, Middle East and Africa region for PepsiCo and Moataz Al-Alfi, CEO of Americana, the two companies celebrated their long-term partnership and also discussed growth opportunities throughout the GCC and the wider region.

Speaking at the dinner, Omar Farid, PepsiCo’s President for the Middle East & Africa commented that the continuing growth of the Middle East offers enormous opportunities for PepsiCo and Americana to strengthen their relationship and drive regional expansion.

Farid said: “The renewal of our agreement with Americana reflects a historical alliance of 40 years. It is not a standard partnership but a very special one which brings together two giants in the food and beverage industry to continue growing their footprint further and to leverage the full potential of their partnership to delight consumers.”

He added: “It’s not often that two companies work together so efficiently for such a long period of time and this is due to the strong commitment from both companies, which have helped us foster a positive relationship. We look forward to that relationship continuing for many more years to come”.

“As a Middle East, North Africa and Caspian Sea leader in food and beverages, Americana is delighted to continue its relationship with Pepsi Cola, the world favourite soft drink brand,” said Moataz Al-Alfi, CEO of Americana. “As one of the largest and most successful corporations in the region, Americana’s market dominance will generate an unrivalled level of brand exposure for Pepsi Cola, cementing its position as the region’s number one choice for refreshment. This strategic alliance is one that will continue to grow over the years and we look forward to an even longer and more fruitful partnership with the brand.”

With a network of over 1,200 outlets, Americana is not only the largest operator of restaurant chains in the MENA region with brands that include, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, TGI Friday, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn, and Krispy Kreme; but it is also one of the most successful franchise operators in the world.

Under the terms of the renewal of their agreement, PepsiCo will continue to supply beverages for Americana across many of its outlets.

Background Information

Pepsi Cola International

In 1965, Donald Kendall, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, and Herman Lay, the CEO of Frito-Lay, recognized what they called “a marriage made in heaven,” a single company delivering perfectly-salty snacks served alongside the best cola on earth. Their vision led to what quickly became one of the world's leading food and beverage companies: PepsiCo.

For more than 50 years, as tastes, trends and lifestyles have changed, PepsiCo has evolved with them. Our willingness to adapt and grow has transformed our snack and soda company into a collection of global brands including Pepsi and Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana, Frito-Lay and beyond. Today, PepsiCo is one of the world’s most-respected companies with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories and 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.